talkmagic.co.uk

My mum is the principal teacher of learning support at a local high school and my parents also do respite care for foster families. I have met a lot of children and teenagers with different disabilities and from different backgrounds. I am yet to meet one who is not a genuine nice person and have all been talented and able in various different fields.

I hope that it's just a minority that act discriminately.

The face of a person with "disabilities"...


http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w234 ... wking4.jpg

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w234 ... wking1.jpg


Think about it

There are some truly disgraceful things described in this thread, and I hope monker59 at the very least gets his money back (and I think he's also due an apology and compensation).

However, this really takes the biscuit for appalling behaviour:

lozey wrote:Donna decided she wanted to get out of her wheelchair and sit beside us on the 'sofa' type seating. She stood herself up and was slowly getting heself int the right position so she could sit straight down. A Pizzahut worker stood for about 30 seconds waiting to get past her (and bearing in mind the wheelchair was in plain view) then he suddenly shoved his way past her and caused her to fall

I was bullied in secondary school really badly. I moved schools after a year and the school I moved to was worse than the first! Physical and mental bullying, and lots of it.

I was never depressed though. I was always told that depression is just a state of mind and not a disorder that needs treatment or medicine, so I just made myself happy and didnt let things get me down. Still works today!

babyshanks wrote:I was never depressed though. I was always told that depression is just a state of mind and not a disorder that needs treatment or medicine, so I just made myself happy and didnt let things get me down. Still works today!

here here!

Im a nurse now but have worked for many years with the national autistic society in scotland. It is true that your end of the "spectrum" is high functioning, but that is irrelevant in your case in my humble opinion. What mr browning has said is spot on. The question of why on earth they took your money in the first place is truly baffling I am kind off assuming at the heart of this silly decission is some sort of fear of litigation (as is a common theme in health and social care). However, i think that your case as stated is iron clad in your favour. I dont know much about U.S. law but there must be legislation that enshrines your right to individuality, and also your right to not be descriminated against on the grounds of dissability. Id say get your fol;ks to call the school and get an explanation...then get them to call perry mason

chin up young man, and hope it all goes well

Damned Internet Gremlins Posted things Twice

Craig Browning wrote:

babyshanks wrote:I was bullied in secondary school really badly. I moved schools after a year and the school I moved to was worse than the first! Physical and mental bullying, and lots of it.

I was never depressed though. I was always told that depression is just a state of mind and not a disorder that needs treatment or medicine, so I just made myself happy and didnt let things get me down. Still works today!

GREAT POINT OF VIEW












FOR PEOPLE WHO'VE NEVER ACTUALLY DEALT WITH IT

I went over twenty years thinking that way, three progressively worse mental & emotional breakdowns later I learned the facts in a very cruel and crippling way... and trust me, there are hundreds if not thousands of people in this world just like me; who believed that positive thinking and positive activities would "take care of it"... some of those folks are in far worse shape than I've ever been in my most bleak of moments and at least one that I'm aware of, is physically damaged as the result of a suicide attempt that didn't take... the bullet went clean through his skull and though he functions, its more akin to that of a 7 or 8 year old vs. someone in their 50s that knew amazing success in life.

Depression hosts a genetic factor as well as environmental factors, it is not illusory and I can assure you, it can be exceptionally lethal.

Yes, there are "Doctors" in our world who believe in cramming pills down everyone's throat so as to just numb them and get them out of the way. We have a "company" here in my area that is notorious for creating Thorazine Zombies that shuffle all over the downtown area. It's amazingly easy picking out their Psych clients from those who have legitimate doctors that aren't getting those extra bonuses from this and that pharmaceutical company or even government compensation (which this particular company thrives on.)

I lived for many years with that frame of mind you have mentioned and it damn near killed me, so you might want to do some honest research about Mental Health and the issue of Depression-Anxiety disorders before preaching such a dangerous lie.

I think some things that are labelled as depression are really just people feeling down. If you've been ill for a long time, or are being bullied, it's perfectly normal to be sad and yes, a positive attitude can help.

Then there's clinical depression, and that's quite another thing. I've not suffered myself, but I have close relatives who have, and also work colleagues. It hits them very hard sometimes and no prescription of happy thoughts will get them over it.

Interestingly (if slightly off-topic), the meta-analysis that came out a month or so ago about a certain kind of anti-depressants being no better than placebos (research done I might add by a psychologist, i.e. non-medically trained, not allowed to prescribe) has been re-analysed in a more thorough way and found that pretty much all the anti-depressants looked at actually do perform significantly better than placebos.

Needless to say this has not been given any coverage whatsover in the press, and sadly will not undo the problems and I expect even some suicides that have resulted in people being scared by the media into stopping their medication without consulting a doctor


Lozey, that's really appalling about your friend, but I do have some sympathies with a general public who aren't particularly educated about specific disabilities. If someone is in a wheelchair and has difficulty expressing themselves, without knowing anything about C.P. it's difficult for Joe Bloggs to know how to talk to them - I'm not sure without my training I'd easily be able to identify someone who had mental disabilities or just physical ones. The regular stories we hear of people both being inappropriately treated like adults when they have a mental age of 5, and people being patronised when they are exceedingly intelligent but have physical difficulty with communication do nothing to clarify the situation.

[quote="Farlsborough"]Interestingly (if slightly off-topic), the meta-analysis that came out a month or so ago about a certain kind of anti-depressants being no better than placebos (research done I might add by a psychologist, i.e. non-medically trained, not allowed to prescribe) has been re-analysed in a more thorough way and found that pretty much all the anti-depressants looked at actually do perform significantly better than placebos.

Needless to say this has not been given any coverage whatsover in the press, and sadly will not undo the problems and I expect even some suicides that have resulted in people being scared by the media into stopping their medication without consulting a doctor

quote]


Very much like the current scare over vitamins then

I've got a bit of an update for those of you who have been following the thread. The school just recently decided to refund 400 of the original $4100 for the trip. It's a very bad deal and my family is considering filing greivances at the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union).

technically, they've taken your money under false pretences...illegal...

a nice quick, cheap and easy way of gaining your money and more back - go to the press...a great item for them to run...plus you'd be able to plug an autism charity in the process and show those idiots up for what they truly are...

you and your family have done nothing wrong - stand your ground, cause the biggest fuss you can...and sue them for as much as you can get...

Craig,

Thanks for your very deep and thoughtful post that unfortunately will be lost on many.

Please don't take my questions as a sense of indifference, I'm merely curious about a few things.

By your own words, you said you have suffered from depression and panic attacks - conditions which your school officials are aware of. Could that not have been the basis for not allowing you to go, rather than a discriminatory act? At face value, it doesn't seem as malicious to me.

However, I do feel all of your money should be refunded.